Dilemma

: 4:30 A.M. :

Currently, our situation turned out perfectly great; and what I meant by great, it's totally fucked up! I climbed up the stairs and stumbled upon our terrace, taking a clearer picture of our surroundings.

It was a complete chaos. Amidst of everything, I saw civilians running away from fellow contaminated humans. But what differed them from the normal ones was, these creatures are already infected by the virus; eyes bulging slightly, skin pale unalive, exemplified ability to never tire out due to a fungi or virus controlling their mind nullifying any existent pain in their body. It was the scariest that I could ever imagine. I closed my mouth as I grasp using my hands and watch these 'infected' people gradually closing by a mother with her baby. She never let her child go, and there had met her fate. Gobbled up by her fellow kind, humans, wondering what had gone wrong. The small streets which was filled with energy days before was now in shambles. Galvanized roofs, wooden chunks and other plastic bottles scattering everywhere whilst being blown away by the wind. Cars and jeeps running elsewhere, escaping the zone but brought to their awaited death from the mindless creatures sprinting their way towards these automobiles. These infected still indeed looked humane which made it more deceiving, and as the clock ticks forward the casualties grew immerse. Even small ragged homes from poverty civilians were destroyed and trampled by the infected. Some stayed indoors despite the turbulence, shivering behind the bars of their windows. Some climbed on the roof waiting for an aerial rescue but spotted immediately by the rabid mobs, forcing their way to climb up the stand.

Organs were being munched down like noodles on the streets albeit carnivorous, for their own kind, they deliberately left a specific organ intact or some on the ground. It was the still heart, mushed with worms and dark scarlet fluid escaping the veins and arteries.

I've noticed something during my observations; still horrified from the sight of their meal. Why did they left the heart uneaten? Were they unable to digest the components of the heart itself or was there more explanations there is to it? Are these rabid people still alive, hoping to be saved? What are their purpose for eating their own kind; are they limited to eating fresh meats from the source of a human being? Questions were being thrown and all was left unanswered. Nevertheless, it was an understatement that everything would pass out fine. Screams roaring down the streets from children and mother's mixed in with the crowd. The husbands or the men were armed with kitchen knives and long hammers to drive away the neighbours they had known.

We were residing on a village, our house standing two storey's tall. It was apart from the busiest streets but the view of those could easily be seen. I crawled back from the entrance door, closing it shut to avoid its view. The infected had reached our home and kept banging on our door. I turned and took a few seconds to check around to see their current status, stealthily as I can. Some were still thrusting the ingress while others walk around leisurely hoping for a lone person to be preyed. I climbed down the stairs, hoping for the better. Apparently, my mum and the other maid were done barricading everything inside our house. Like mice trapped inside their hole, that's what we are.

"Madame, the food and water might last for a month or so could be stretched for two weeks more" Marionette came from the kitchen and confirmed our resources. She stood there dignified with her eyes and hands closed, befitting for a maid. Her white and black uniform provided by my mother's company made me remember the maids during the late centuries, inspired from the artisans.

Right, we needed these resources and other appliances that may be used during our survival. Being alive is our topmost priority.

My mum laid down on the couch as she sighed through everything. The two maids fatigue could be seen right through their faces but for us who were their masters and clients, they needed their composure to perform their duties. But, we never mistreated them in any ways. They were French, residing from the country of Italy, France, where we first hired them as cooks then finally as our masters of the household chores. Their family, including them, are always compensated for the excellent jobs done for that matter. They are part of our family, as for I who recognised their worth when I was still a middle age schooler back then. They were trained for a lot of things, as educators and instructors to a certain degree. On the back of their mind, they too had been worrying about their own blood relatives. But as such, they still needed to survive for their own necessity.

"Thank you, Marionette, Quinn" Thanking them came naturally. They were always available awaiting our orders thus making our individual works smoother; even my dad were grateful for them, as they packed his lunch back when he was still with us leaving in the house.

"Likewise, Monsieur" they replied, bowing their heads filled with gracefulness.

I accompanied my mum who was still sitting on the couch, not knowing what to do. I asked her about our future plans but she was now fast asleep. I took my phone out, hoping for a guide that my father had entrusted me.

This phone was uniquely made by my dad, one of his prototype experiments. I asked him for a specific brand, a phone that has the best quality available in town. But as I continued my request, he then rushed towards his room and yelled "I'LL MAKE YOU AN EVEN BETTER PHONE RATHER THAN THOSE SOLD IN THE MARKETS MWAHAHAH" and ended it with a laugh, isolated for 2 days in his very room. By the time he went out, he was gobbling up our entire storage of food and later on shown me his newly built experiment. That was probably 7 years ago since I received this from him. He continually kept my gadget updated, but refused to explain the details of his new patches. I scribble down the settings and finally found my answer

*PHONE MANUAL*

Message received (READ) Phone update!!!!

My cell phone beat tremendously, but wasn't loud enough to alert the outside mobs. On the last tune of its tone, an 'update' had finally been finished and ready to be shown.

MAP- this includes the overall terrain under the distance of approximately 100km from your current location. This allows you to view hidden terrains, roads, houses, and other items that may be of used; if specified under the search mechanism

SEARCH- advises to be turned on with the MAP option. 'SEARCH' enables you to find items undetectable or laid over on areas that aren't visible in the eyes. This includes food, water, clothing, tools, and such. It can also be used to search the nearest life forms via the X-RAY built-in in the setting

EMBER AND TUNDRA- This allows the owner to use and control the temperature. It can be used for heating the quickest meals or frosting a specific item under the blanket of ice below 0 degrees Celsius

MASTER KEY- a portable pin attached from the phone that transforms into various sizes of keys that can unlock specific doors and safes; unlockable limited to keys.

That's all that there is to it, I guess? All these tools are so complex yet easy to use, as for the beginner I am. If I had known these stupendous features, I could've had used it from our science lab and mess up all the chemicals and test tubes heating 'em up and cause a massive chocolate explosion. Or not.

As I hid my grin under the shade of our lamp, I continue immersing myself on various options on what I could make use from these necessary tools. Sometime soon we are expected to venture the narrow road and fetch some resources all ourselves. Right now, the electricity may be running normally but sooner or later the electrical company, which was the sole corporate that handles all the electric power source, would ran out at most 12 hours from now. With that in mind, all of our electrical appliances including our source of light and water (coming from our faucet, used in cleaning and bathing; apart from our cleansed drinking water), which is also run by a different lone company all over the Philippines, will be soon halt to its production. But, we'll cross that bridge once we get there.

4 Hours had passed since then and nothing new really came into light. All the channels from the television was eliminated, and the grey shattering lines greeted our face. We ended up doing the stuff that we did best; the maids focused on reinforcing our whole shelter whilst computing the over-all consumption of our food intake, my mum who was gathering all the necessary documents readied everything inside her medium sized leather bag, received as a gift from my dad/her husband

And as for myself, I had been browsing all of the recent messages sent by my dad who had been stored yet again from my inbox. Other texts were plain idleness and useless but what piqued my interest was the antidotes' ingredients.

"Bizarre" I commented. This was technically a draft proposed by my dad during the experiment. He made future progress, if let's say the experiment succeeds and some foreign symptoms intact may be cured in the soonest time. My dad was meticulous after all. But the question was "what made this mess started it in the first place" as the thought ponders me heavily, I thoroughly read what was written from the ingredients.

20 grams of Sulfur

20 grams of Chlorine

20 millilitres of hydrogen oxide

20 millilitres Ethanol/water 40%

and mixed gasses (Nitrogen + Oxygen,

and helium; inside a gas chromatography).

Combine the mixture and place them in a tungsten container around 12 inches tall. Heat the container under 3,000 °C

Antidotes effectiveness; approximately 60% success.

The text describes various chemical ingredient that mostly elements visible in the periodic table.

I found myself yet again pondering how to obtain these difficult elements needed for an antidote, let alone be successful upon creating one. Sulfur can be obtain naturally in areas around hot springs and volcanic regions. Chlorine are easily found and added in some random neighbour's pool. Hydrogen Oxide is just plain fresh water. Ethanol could be generally found in stores, specifically drug stores. And lastly, these gases are…we'll figure that out sooner or later.

One of my guesses would be, some of these may be available in my dad's laboratory. If he had found a solution for the virus, he sure had to have these ingredients ready on standy-by, right? Probably. Probably not. I memorised every nook and cranny of my dad's facility, in no exaggeration. But the main problem is not knowing where. We need to surrender ourselves outside, left eaten by the infected people.

For now, I have seen everything that I need. I got off of my slouching posture and exclaim the intel to my mum; everything I knew land read the messages my dad had sent me yesterday. My mum wasn't that surprised anymore from the sudden news but stared specifically on the scattered papers resting on her desk. She then wonders our possible routes and transportation which could be readied for everyone's survival.

She explains her thought in a serious manner. My mum recognised the weight of our responsibility, especially me who is the son of a great scientist, and creator of the test sample. But to their discricity, the experiment wasn't publicity known and was hidden even amongst the staff my dad had been working on. The trio, my dad, Mr. Newton (my uncle) and Claire (my aunt), these renowned scientist are the masterminds of handful innovations and creation of modern drug bank.

I knew for a fact that we are related in this whole mess that the world had to experience with. But my dad and his friends are worth explaining for. It was a noble purpose of relieving Mr. Newton's daughter, who was chronically ill at this very moment. But as the news complies, the laboratory was indeed caught in camera massacred by a vast explosion. Thus, we needed a plan to relocate our belongings, harnessing our sense in order to survive, and venture my dad's extra facility; right here in the Philippines. It was convenient, however was a branch from my mum and dad's company. My dad had thought it but my mum handled the finance so they were both the directors of that same facility.

As we continued our conversation, the two maids, who were dutifully doing their tasks (whatever they were doing) heard a commotion outside. A young girl with her dog was running pass different obstacles, barely staying alive from their stand. They were trying to outrun the scavengers who relies mostly in their instincts to kill or reproduce, as the fungi they were, elites on controlling their very muscles. The girl had reached our lawn and was successful withdrawing on a nearby shelter, restroom rather, on the side of the fountain.

The view was clear as we hastily ran towards the terrace and watched the actions played by the little girl and her black shepherd dog went hurriedly on the nearby hut. A series of lucky event, as I would say and observed their standing.

We all went inside from the dangerous terrace as we decide our current action; it was saving the fortunate girl or turning an innocent eye.

It was indeed unlucky of her to be caught off guard from these monsters, when at the first place she could've stayed indoors while she still had the time. But the inevitable had already happened and there was no point in crying for spoiled milk. The question lingers the room, a heavy dilemma that which we cannot decide.

Quinn was first to speak up, still quite shivering. As she stood and stared at everyone, she conveyed her feelings.

"The girl must be save…" she exclaims. A request we cannot mislook. My mum on the other hand was a bit hesitant at first but soon to have agreed. Marionette just stood there quietly, going on with the flow. She was either; saving the girl or leaving her behind. She will gracefully comply and fulfil any order given at the best of her abilities. So, it had come to this? My decision was the joint of our flag.

Should I play the hero and risk everyone's life?

or venture the safest route as possible and leave them eaten alive

What path should I choose… I wonder.